C. megalodon
One of the most popular prehistoric animals is the Oligocene-Miocene shark called "C. Megalodon". It is often just called "Megalodon" however using the full name "C. Megalodon" is more formal. However it may be referred to as either in this article. It is also occasionally called "Carcharocles Megalodon". The debate as to whether it should be called "Carcharodon" or "Carcharocles" has been going for nearly 200 years, and may not yet be resolved. C. Megalodon was a global problem. Fossil remains show that this shark lived in pretty much every ocean at that time besides the extreme North or South. Temperate and Tropical Waters around the globe bear signs of what may be the most terrifying sea monster of all time. The Megalodon is renowned for its size. At up to 18 meters long for very large individuals, it is the largest shark of all time. Although some other sharks like Angustidens and Chubutensis grow to a similar size. Still, C. Megalodon is a few meters larger than these. Other prehistoric sharks grew much larger than the Great White Shark (Carcharodon Carcharias). It has also been suggested that C. Megalodon was the largest fish, however today that title is usually given to Leedsichthys, a Jurassic plankton eater than may have grown to 100 feet long (although most estimates are short of this). C. Megalodon also had the greatest bite of any animal currently known to science. It could crush a car in its mouth, making it a ridiculously powerful predator. It was made to kill Whales! Remains of Killer Whales and other Prehistoric Whales show signs of great impact wounds. In the Miocene, Killer Whales were not the king that they are today. Carcharocles Megalodon actively hunted them down and massacred them. Whales had to watch their backs, as they had no chance against the shark. The Megalodon had a unique way of killing whales. It would wait for a whale to be near the surface taking in air, and then it would charge up knocking the whale silly. This is probably where the impact wounds came from. Then it would take the defenseless whale underwater to eat it. C. Megalodon itself is only known from teeth and vertebrae. The teeth are much more numerous, and a clear picture of its mouth can be created. A full grown man could easily walk into a gaping C. megalodon. It had even more teeth than the Great White Shark. Its teeth are also no new discovery. They were originally thought to be the tips of dragon togues. During final stages of C. Megalodon's reign, the Oceans began to grow cooler as the Earth prepared for a huge glacial period. C. megalodon died out roughly 1.6 million years ago. It was forced to the Equator by the cooling oceans where it could not support itself and probably starved to extinction. It also was out competed by it food, the Killer Whale. Although a whole pod of killer whales would stand no chance against a fully grown Megalodon, they ate up the little food which C. Megalodon had. This hastened the starving of the giant. Although C. Megalodon was nearly unmatched in power, during the Miocene another Sea Monster arose to challenge the mighty shark: Livyatan melvillei. Livyatan was a physeteroid like the Sperm whale, only it had a much more powerful bite. It could grow to 18 meters long and about 65 tons. This would make it capable of killing the Megalodon shark if it wanted to. Others say that they would coexist, but either way, the Livyatan was a serious threat to the C. Megalodon population. And the Livyatan was made to eat sharks! This was a sea monster like nothing before. However, the Livyatan itself probably suffered the same fate as its huge contemporary, C. Megalodon. Either way, the once apex predator was challenged by the new, humongous whale. Whales during the Miocene were at their most diverse, and the king of the seas, Livyatan melvillei was named in honor of Herman Melville, the author of Moby Dick. A tale of a huge Sperm Whale defeating whalers. It was based off a true story of a Sperm Whale destroying a whaling ship. C. Megalodon was driven to extinction by a number of extraordinary events. Recent studies say Megalodon died out due to competition with Orcas and Great White Sharks. Badge-edit-7.png Category:Cenozoic Category:Quaternary Category:Oligocene Category:Miocene Category:Sea Monster Category:Shark Category:Water Category:Chordata Category:Top Ten List Featured! Category:Fish